LAHORE: Customs Enforcement & Compliance Collector Basit Maqsood Abbasi has assured the business community of full cooperation for resolution of their issues on priority basis.
He was speaking at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Thursday. Senior Vice President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) Ali Hussam Asghar, Vice President Mian Zahid Jawaid Ahmad and executive committee members were also present on the occasion.
Collector Customs said the customs appraisement has worked hard to ensure minimum time in clearance of goods and articles and easy registration of the firms.
He added that human interference due to the proper implementation of WeBOC has been reduced significantly thereby reducing the cost of doing business.
The Senior Vice President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry Ali Hussam Asghar has said that the business community of Pakistan is striving hard to sustain their businesses through persistent hard work and efforts. The customs department and the business community have to work closely with each other for carrying out business activity.
He said that the business community want to ensure that any action taken by Customs Department should not be anti-business. Business community should feel comfortable while dealing with Customs officials, he added.
Ali Hussam Asghar further said that Importers are facing various problems while transporting imported goods from the ports to their warehouses as they are frequently stopped by Custom personnel on various check points during transit. We believe that consignments once cleared by Customs Authorities should not be checked time and again while moving up country.
He said unnecessary delays in clearance of goods on part of Customs should be minimized. The government should take steps to control smuggling at the borders and equip the law enforcement agencies deployed at borders with latest technology and gadgets.
Raiding godowns and confiscating goods without giving time to importers to justify themselves, different valuation parameters and additional charges at Lahore Port are causing issues for businessmen and need to be addressed, he stressed.
